What I’m Reading Lately

Kaitlan is WALKING. As in, not just cruising, and doesn’t want to crawl at all anymore.

When we got back from the State Fair we were ecstatic that she was free standing and cruising on furniture. And last Friday, she was averaging between 4 and 5 steps before falling. That number skyrocketed to about 25 over the weekend, and now she’s just walking everywhere. She can even stand up without assistance and start walking!

She is definitely interesting as far as development. She’s always been a bit behind with the major physical milestones, but ahead on ones that you think would help with them. She didn’t roll over till 6 months, and didn’t crawl till around 9 months, but she had really good hand/arm control at 3-4 months and could free squat with weight months before walking. In any sense, when you see a dumbfounded parent who thinks their kid is a genius, that’s why. It happens so fast!

So onto my must-read books of the moment. All this Beeb development prompted me to make this purchase:

I’m not a scrapbooker, and as much as I love the blog, sometimes I just want to jot things down for myself. With as fast as things are changing with Kaitlan, I thought this would be a good way to mark the little milestones like her learning to high-five, or enjoying her first PBJ. It’s compact (5 years in one tiny book!) and adorable.

Bringing up Bébé

Bringing up Bébé is by far the best parenting book I’ve read so far. It’s been so refreshing to read something that doesn’t amp up my anxiety or parent guilt about doing enough or being enough as a parent. Plus, Druckerman writes how I think. Highly recommend.

Hands Free Mama

Reversely, Hands Free Mama is by far the worst parenting book I’ve read. I’d seen it everywhere, so figured it must be really good. The premise of putting your phone down and being present and engaged is important, and I agree with it completely. But this book, especially for new parents, heaps more stress and guilt onto an already difficult time of adjustment. The author just seems really sad and guilt-ridden, and the way she writes makes it hard not to feel that way about your own life, no matter how rational you are. Additionally, the book is a mud puddle of redundancy and self-seeking from a woman who just doesn’t seem able to find self-assurance. There are no practical tips, this isn’t a guide, it’s a long blog post that I’m happy I didn’t try to finish.

The Selection Series

I finished Book one of The Selection Series and subsequently ran to the library and checked out the next two (I didn’t want to get greedy). I don’t read a whole lot of YA fiction, but when I do, I practically binge on it. These are super easy and fun to read.

Big Magic

And as if my life weren’t packed with enough to read, I had to pre-order Elizabeth Gilbert’s new book Big Magic. Isn’t it pretty!? I don’t even know when I’ll dive into this, but hopefully soon.

So that’s what I’ve been reading over the past two weeks. What are you reading lately?